Observations:
- Dan Haren was traded for Joe Saunders, Patrick Corbin, Rafael Rodriguez, and a player to be named, which is believed to be Tyler Skaggs. Let the second guessing commence...
Notables:
- Wade Davis picked up his 3rd straight win, after he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 2 earned runs. He struck out 4 and walked 1. The Rays have said they are open to bringing up Jeremy Hellickson, but only to help the bullpen, which is good news for Davis owners.
- Alex Rodriguez did not hit #600, but he did go 2-4 and collect 3 RBI. He also took a ball off of his left hand, while batting.
- Curtis Granderson hit 2 homers off a righty. This season his wOBA vs lefties is .249, while it's .340 vs righties. For his career he has a .268 wOBA vs lefties and a .377 wOBA vs righties.
- The Blue Jays & Tigers split a double-header. The first game saw Lyle Overbay hit a 2-run homer in the top of the 9th to break up a 3-3 tie and put the Blue Jays ahead for good. The second game also saw late game heroics as Ryan Raburn hit a 3-run double in the bottom of the 8th to help the Tigers to a comeback victory.
- Delmon Young, Jason Kubel, Jim Thome, & Jason Repko all launched homers off of the Orioles pitching staff. Young is now batting .322... damn, son.
- Kevin Slowey pitched 6 innings of 1-run ball and collected win number 9. He got 11 ground balls to 6 fly balls, which is somewhat unexpected as he carries a near 50|PERCENT| fly ball rate.
- Daric Barton & Kurt Suzuki each went 2-4 and together drove in 5 runs for the A's.
- Michael Saunders went 1-3 with 2 RBI in a win over the Red Sox. For the series, Saunders was 4-9 with 1 HR and 4 RBI.
- Josh Hamilton is NBA Jam "On Fire" right now. He went 3-4 with 3 RBI to raise his batting average to a MLB high .357.
- Tommy Hunter improved to 8-0, after he pitched 6.1 innings and allowed 3 earned runs. He gave up 2 home runs, but kept the damage to a minimum as he only allowed 3 hits and 1 walk. With a 4.62 K/9 and 2.17 BB/9, Hunter's margin for error is slim and it's probably best to sell high, if you can. A .234 BABIP and 86|PERCENT| strand rate won't last forever.
- Jair Jurrjens pitched 7 innings and allowed 4 earned runs. He struck out 6 and walked 2 in the no-decision. His home ERA this season is 1.71, while his road ERA is 7.88. This was a road start.
- J.A. Happ was back in action for the Phillies, after spending time on the DL and in the minors dealing with a forearm injury. He pitched 5 innings and allowed 3 earned runs in a no-decision. He walked 4, struck out 4, and gave up 4 hits.
- Jeff Francis looked pretty good opposite Happ. He struck out 6, walked 1, and allowed 2 earned runs over 5 innings. Over his last 2 starts, Francis has a 13:1 K/BB ratio.
- Adrian Gonzalez hit a 2-run homer, in a 1-4 effort. He's batting .295 with 64 RBI on the season.
- Wade LeBlanc struck out 2 and allowed 3 earned runs over 6 innings, in a win.
- Wandy Rodriguez had the curveball working against the Reds. He threw it 36 times, 24 of those for strikes. He struck out 7 and walked 2 over 7 shutout innings in a win. He's now 8-11 with a 4.80 ERA. It wouldn't surprised me if he ended up with an above .500 record and an ERA under 4.00.
- Rickie Weeks hit his 20th homer of the season. Knock on wood, he's healthy and putting up the kind of power numbers we've always thought possible. Never mind the lack of steals, if he can keep this .378 wOBA up.
- Dave Bush struck out 7, walked none, and allowed 2 earned runs over 6 innings in a win. Bush has now allowed 2 earned runs or less in 7 of his last 8 starts.
- Clayton Kershaw was lights out against the Mets, as he pitched 8 shutout innings with 3 strikeouts, 1 walk, and 7 hits allowed. The only blemish is the 3 strikeouts as he now has 10 over his last 3 starts combined. Still, he's 10-5 with a 2.96 ERA.
- R.A. Dickey pitched 5.2 innings with 6 strikeouts, 0 walks, and 2 hits, in a no decision. He did all that he could to match Kershaw's efforts, but the offense didn't have his back. He induced 10 ground balls and now has a 55.6|PERCENT| ground ball rate. He had to leave the game after he strained something in his hindquarters, while trying to field a Kershaw ground ball.
- Aubrey Huff went 1-3 with 1 RBI and 2 walks. His .408 wOBA (weighted on base average) is second to only Joey Votto. If you're more of an OPS guy, his .946 OPS is 3rd highest in the NL. I knew he was having a bit of a renaissance year, but my mouth about hit the floor when I saw these two stats. At 33 years old, he's been a great find for the Giants.
- Tim Lincecum pitched 8 innings and allowed 2 earned runs, in a no decision. He struck out 5, walked 1, and allowed 9 hits. Owners will probably complain about the lack of strikeouts, but come on, the guy has a 3.12 ERA.
- Felipe Lopez cranked a solo shot off of Brian Schlitter to put the Cardinals ahead in extra-innings.
- Chris Carpenter allowed 3 earned runs over 7 innings, in a no-decision. He struck out 4, walked 1, and gave up 9 hits. He has a 14/2 K/BB ratio over his last 3 starts. In his last 2 starts, he has a 27/8 ground ball/fly ball ratio.
Save Chances:
- Heath Bell, converted (29). Struck out 1 and walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Brian Wilson, converted (29). Struck out 1 in a clean 10th.
- Neftali Feliz, converted (28). Allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits.
- Rafael Soriano, converted (26). Struck out 1 and walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Kevin Gregg, converted (23). Struck out 1 in a clean 9th.
- Jose Valverde, converted (21). Struck out 2 and gave up a solo shot to Dewayne Wise. This was in game 2 of a double-header.
- David Aardsma, converted (18). Struck out 1 in a clean 9th.
- Brad Lidge, converted (9). Struck out 3, walked 2, and gave up 1 hit.
- Mike Wuertz, converted (3). Struck out 1 in a clean 9th. Andrew Bailey has been dealing with back spasms.
- Dennys Reyes, converted (1). He struck out Kosuke Fukudome... yes, this is what passes as a save.
- Kenley Jansen, converted (1). Struck out 2 in a clean 9th. He's behind Kuo and Broxton, but should factor into late inning situations.
Other Closer Outings:
- Chris Perez struck out 1 and walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Jose Valverde, the good news: struck out 3 in the 9th inning; the bad news: gave up a 2-run homer to Lyle Overbay when the game was tied, to take the loss. This was game 1 of a double-header.
- Bobby Jenks struck out 1 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Brian Fuentes struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Leo Nunez walked 1 in a scoreless 9th.
- Matt Lindstrom struck out 2 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 9th.
- Matt Capps struck out 1 in a clean 8th.
- Ryan Franklin scored a vulture win, after he struck out 1 and gave up 2 hits over 2 scoreless innings.
- Carlos Marmol struck out 2 in a clean 9th. His K/9 and BB/9 rates are equally insane.
Non-Closer Outings:
- Grant Balfour allowed 2 hits in a scoreless 8th.
- Scott Downs struck out 2, walked 1, and picked up a vulture win.
- Koji Uehara gave up 2 hits in a scoreless 8th. Since coming off the DL in late June, Uehara has an 11/2 K/BB ratio.
- J.J. Putz struck out 1 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 7th.
- Daniel Bard gave up 1 earned run on 2 hits in the 7th.
- Phil Coke pitched a scoreless 8th with 2 hits and picked up a vulture win.
- Frank Francisco walked 1 in a scoreless 8th.
- Clay Hensley pitched 1.2 innings and allowed 1 earned run on 2 hits.
- Jonny Venters gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 10th.
- Takashi Saito struck out 2 in a clean 9th.
- Luke Gregerson struck out 2 in a clean 8th. Since dealing with a sore back at the beginning of the month, he's been his usual, lights out self.
- Evan Meek pitched 1.2 clean innings.
- Joel Hanrahan struck out 1 in a clean 9th. Don't be surprised if it's Hanrahan and not Meek that inherits the closer role, should Dotel get traded.
- Brandon Lyon struck out 1 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Nick Masset struck out 3 and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Sergio Romo struck out 2 and gave up 2 hits in a scoreless 9th.
- Juan Gutierrez struck out 1 in a clean 9th.
- Aaron Heilman struck out 2, walked 1, and gave up 1 hit in a scoreless 8th.
- Sean Marshall gave up 2 hits in a scoreless 8th. Has allowed 1 earned run since 6/23.
- Jason Motte pitched a clean 8th.
Tough Days:
- Joba Chamberlain gave up a 2-run homer to Scott Podsednik. His .405 BABIP is doing him no favors.
- Nick Blackburn, who is now pitching out of the bullpen, had a clean 8th, but gave up 3 earned runs in the 9th. It's time to cut bait, if you already haven't.
- Jake Arrieta gave up 5 earned runs over 4 innings. He struck out none and walked 4.
- Trevor Bell pitched 3.1 innings and gave up 4 earned runs. He struck out 2 and walked 2. It was his first start of the season.
- Ross Detwiler made his season debut and it was a mixed bag. On the bright side, he struck out 4 and didn't allow an earned run. However, he walked 3, gave up 3 hits, and allowed 5 runs that weren't charged to him because of errors and wild pitches.
- Aaron Hill went 0-4 with 1 strikeout. He's now batting .198 on the season. A .195 BABIP is pretty bad, but how about that 10|PERCENT| line drive rate? Ugh.
- Gordon Beckham went 0-4 with 3 strikeouts. A relapse, but at least those days of flirting with a .200 batting average are behind him... I hope.
- Scott Sizemore went 0-6 with 2 strikeouts. He's 1-12 since coming back from the minors.
- Nate McLouth went 0-2. He's now 1-15 since coming back from injury/the minors.
- Dexter Fowler was a terror when he came back, but since then he's cooled off considerably. Sunday he went 1-5 with 2 strikeouts. He's now 3 for his last 38.
Lineup-ology/Injuries:
- Matt Wieters was activated from the 15-Day DL. Craig Tatum was sent down to make room.
- Magglio Ordonez was placed on the 15-Day DL with a fractured right ankle. Jeff Larish will take his spot on the roster.
- Carlos Guillen was placed on the 15-Day DL with a strained right calf. Will Rhymes was called up in his absence.
- Eugenio Velez was placed on the 15-Day DL with a head contusion and concussion. He took a Pat Burrell foul ball to the head.
- Orlando Hudson was placed on the 15-Day DL with a right oblique strain.
- The Tigers played a double-header and in the first game their lineup went: Austin Jackson (8), Ramon Santiago (4), Ryan Raburn (7), Miguel Cabrera (DH), Brennan Boesch (9), Scott Sizemore (5), Jeff Larish (3), Gerald Laird (2), & Danny Worth (6). Their second game went: Austin Jackson (8), Will Rhymes (4), Johnny Damon (7), Miguel Cabrera (3), Brennan Boesch (9), Jeff Larish (DH), Don Kelly (5), Alex Avila (2), & Danny Worth (6). Jim Leyland has a bad habit of putting a player in the same lineup spot as the player he's subbing in for defensively, but that'll be tough to do now that Brandon Inge, Carlos Guillen, and Magglio Ordonez are out.
Chicks Dig the Long Ball:
- Jose Bautista (27), Albert Pujols (23), Adrian Gonzalez (21), Vernon Wells (20), Rickie Weeks (20), Torii Hunter (16), Hunter Pence (15), Casey McGehee (14), Delmon Young (13), Hideki Matsui (13), Jason Kubel (12), Jim Thome (12), Lyle Overbay (11), Curtis Granderson (8 & 9), Ryan Spilborghs (9), Eric Hinske (8), Reid Brignac (6), Felipe Lopez (6), Chris Denorfia (6), Scott Podsednik (4 & 5), Ronny Cedeno (5), Rick Ankiel (4), Ben Francisco (3), Chris Johnson (3), Dewayne Wise (3), Jose Molina (3), Danny Worth (2), & Jason Repko (1).
Stolen Bases:
- Carl Crawford (34), Michael Bourn (30), Brett Gardner (27), Chone Figgins (26), Nyjer Morgan (25), Franklin Gutierrez (14), Coco Crisp (10 & 11), Derek Jeter (11), Adam Kennedy (11), Chris Getz (9 & 10), Curtis Granderson (8), Jimmy Rollins (8), Brendan Ryan (8), Jason Bartlett (7), Maicer Izturis (5), David Murphy (5), Yorvit Torrealba (5), Brennan Boesch (3), Tyler Colvin (3), Jeff Keppinger (3), Gabe Gross (3), Jonathan LuCroy (3), Freddy Sanchez (2), Matt Carson (1), & Jeff Baker (1).
Caught Stealing:
- Carl Crawford (9), Jose Reyes (4), Nate Schierholtz (4), Evan Longoria (3), Reid Brignac (3), Yunel Escobar (2), Brendan Ryan (2), Ryan Raburn (1), Matt Diaz (1), & Tyler Colvin (1).